Local taxidermist continues growing business in Cynthiana – News-Graphic.com

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Updated: July 28, 2026 @ 1:39 am
C.J. Ritchie, owner of Ritchie’s Taxidermy and Hydrodipping, attaches antlers to a white-tailed deer mount while completing the taxidermy process at his Cynthiana shop.

C.J. Ritchie, owner of Ritchie’s Taxidermy and Hydrodipping, attaches antlers to a white-tailed deer mount while completing the taxidermy process at his Cynthiana shop.
CYNTHIANA — Local taxidermist C.J. Ritchie has expanded his business in recent years, offering taxidermy, hydrodipping, and skull cleaning services from his shop in Cynthiana, Ritchie said.
Ritchie has worked in taxidermy for about 15 years, he said. He purchased Four Seasons Taxidermy in Georgetown in September 2020 and operated both locations for about a year before consolidating the businesses in Cynthiana after the Georgetown building was acquired for the new judicial center, Ritchie said.
Ritchie built his current shop four years ago, he said. The business has continued to grow, allowing him to leave his previous job and work in taxidermy full time for the past three years, Ritchie said.
He became interested in taxidermy after the death of Harrison County taxidermist Lyle Fryman, he said. He later trained with award-winning taxidermist John Griffith before starting his own business, he said.
The shop specializes primarily in white-tailed deer but also does bears, buffalo, moose, longhorns, turkeys, and other animals, Ritchie said. The business also offers hydrodipping, soft-hide tanning, and European skull mounts, he said.
Hydrodipping uses printed film and a water tank to apply decorative finishes to items such as vehicle parts, skulls, and other objects, Ritchie said. The service became part of the business when he purchased Four Seasons Taxidermy, he said.
Customers bring harvested animals to the shop, where the hides are removed, tanned, mounted and finished before being returned, Ritchie said. Depending on the time of year and the shop’s workload, completed mounts are typically returned within several months to about a year, he said.
The shop completes about 25 shoulder mounts each month during its production season, Ritchie said. Most business comes from white-tailed deer harvested during Kentucky’s hunting seasons, he said.
Ritchie accepts animals from customers across Kentucky and other states, provided they meet state and federal transportation regulations, Ritchie said. The shop also maintains dermestid beetles that clean skulls for European mounts and provides that service for other taxidermists, he said.
Among the more unusual projects Ritchie has completed was doing a customer’s dog, he said. He recently accepted his first albino deer and has also done animals including moose, bears and buffalo, Ritchie said.
Ritchie said the most rewarding part of the job is seeing customers pick up their finished mounts.
“The smiles on the customers’ faces when they see their deer,” he said.
Ritchie said he hopes to add a showroom to the front of the building in the future. His long-term goal is to continue improving the quality of his work while maintaining customer satisfaction, he said.
New amphitheaters have been popping in central Kentucky over the past year. Gatton Park in Lexington opened earlier this year and most recently THE VINE in Richmond will host it’s first show later this month.
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